Changes likely at Wrigley Field?

Many think Epstein will alter park for better as well as product on field

October 30, 2011|Phil Rogers | On Baseball

Theo Epstein does a television interview following a press conference at Wrigley Field. (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Long-suffering Cubs fans should like the Theo Epstein years. Traditionalists who want to see Wrigley Field left alone probably will not.

That's the assessment of a random sampling of baseball executives and analysts in determining the potential impact of Chairman Tom Ricketts hiring Epstein and giving him the authority to build a front office similar — and maybe even larger — in scope to the one he ran for nine years in Boston.

It's the Red Sox tie that catches the eye of one sitting general manager, who believes that Chicago fans should brace for changes at Wrigley similar to ones that have occurred at Fenway Park over the last decade.

"I wouldn't look for that old scoreboard to be sitting on top of the center-field bleachers for many more years,'' the general manager said. "There's $20 million (a year) sitting up there if they put up a giant Jumbotron. I know people are attached to tradition, to that scoreboard, but is taking it down any bigger change than putting seats on top of the Green Monster?

"People in Boston went nuts when they were talking about closing off Yawkey Way. But now it's a part of Fenway Park. Everybody enjoys it and the Red Sox make so much money from those things. It helps the team compete.''

Ricketts and his sitting team president, Crane Kenney, will be looking to increase revenues in future years, beginning with new broadcast contracts in 2013 and '14. By then, Epstein is expected to have built a contender at the big-league level and a "player development machine,'' as he has called it, in the minor leagues.

Epstein, who carries the title of president of baseball operations, has hired Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod from the Padres to serve as executive vice president and general manager and senior vice president of scouting and player development, respectively. He is retaining assistant GM Randy Bush, farm director Oneri Fleita and scouting director Tim Wilken from the Jim Hendry regime, and one GM says to expect "still more hires coming.''

Jim Bowden, the former Reds and Nationals GM who now works for ESPN and SiriusXM, believes Ricketts will get a huge return for his investment.

"This is an all star/Silver Slugger/Gold Glover/MVP (operation), and if they win a (World Series) even a Hall of Fame front office,'' Bowden said. "Throughout my career, I never understood why ownerships never understood the value of having a front office filled with GMs rather than having just one. The more great minds together, the better chance of building championships clubs.''

Bowden says Epstein is assembling "potentially the deepest'' front office in baseball history.

"World Series teams are built with depth and length and now the Cubs are starting a new trend of doing the same thing in the front office,'' Bowden said. "Kudos to Tom Ricketts and his family for doing it the right way.''

"I find it hard to see any scenario in which the Cubs end up in better hands,'' Goldstein said. "Theo was their primary target from the day Jim Hendry was fired, and they landed him.

"One of the things that appealed to Ricketts so much about Theo was his model, where he builds a large front office filled with smart people, and he was able to … end up with three of (the Red Sox's) original 'Gang of Four.'

"He's a very talented general manager, but not a miracle worker, and while 2012 should certainly fall under rebuilding, they could compete as early as 2013, and compete is all you can project for any team.''

One GM calls Epstein & Co. "all solid people'' and believes Epstein will benefit from moving away from the American League East, as there is no powerhouse like the Yankees in the National League Central. The Cubs will enjoy a payroll advantage that could grow through the Epstein years if Ricketts finds a way to make sponsorship revenue explode, as it has in Boston.

He's isn't sold on strength by numbers, however.

"Baseball has grown so much,'' he said. "You can make it more complicated than it is. Sometimes the more people you have, the more difficult it can be to make a decision.''

Surprise appearance:

Ricketts had told the public and possibly also some job applicants Kenney would not be involved in his search for Hendry's replacement.

But during his appearance at Wrigley on Tuesday, Epstein thanked Kenney "for working tirelessly to get this done.'' Ricketts also praised Kenney for helping him in the search.

"Crane is an excellent baseball executive,'' he said. "His participation has been critical.''

Watching from wings:

White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn never did interview for the Angels' GM position, which has been reported to be going to Diamondbacks assistant Jerry DiPoto. Hahn declined comment on his involvement but a baseball source said he explored it but it never was clear he would leave the White Sox.

Hahn reportedly was concerned about how much authority an Angels GM would have with manager Mike Scioscia and owner Arte Moreno both known to involve themselves in front office decisions. At one point in this process, Scioscia even reached out to his old bench coach, Joe Maddon, to see if he was interested in leaving the Rays to pursue the GM's job.

Former White Sox staffer Kim Ng did interview and former White Sox assistant GM Dan Evans was considered but, like Hahn, did not go through a formal interview. Evans, who most recently has worked as a player agent, would be a good addition to Epstein's staff in some capacity as he is a Chicago native with the type of generational knowledge on Wrigley Field that Epstein had on Fenway when he took over the Red Sox.